Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 17:11:12 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 550 ==== FIT TO PRINT by catherine yronwode for the week of December 18, 1995 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 550: If there's a lover of esoterica on your winter gift-list, i have two short suggestions: 1) Send some money to Larry Marder, Beanworld Press, P. O. Box 664, Wilmette, IL 60091 and ask for Hungry?, the 24-page ashcan mini-comic Antipasto Edition of the partial contents of the next issue of Tales of the Beanworld. How much money? I dunno. It doesn't say anywhere on the thing. A long, long time ago, i can still remember how (shades of Don MacLean burble up and under in background) Larry gave Beanworld away for free. I once told the world to pay his non-price plus one dollar for postage and handling, and he nearly went broke fulfilling requests. Eventually he caught on to true the meaning behind the term "capitalist 'free' market economy" and he put a price tag (and colour covers) on the Beanworld series and that worked out fine for several years. Nowadays Larry's a big wheel on the giant tractor-trailer rig of one of the top three comic book publishers in America (that's Kapitalism with a Kapital K, folks) and, whaddaya know? That's right: He's reverted to his previous pattern of front cover price-lessness. What a funny man. Hmmm. I guess that means i have to set a "suggested retail price" for him. Shades of the old days. How about $3.00 to cover printing, postage, and handling? That sound okay, Larry? If not, let me know and i'll run a correction. What'll ya get for your money? A cool dip into the wellsprings of the Beanster's mind, including fully finished pages featuring the Elusive Not-Worm, side-by-side pencils and inks showcasing (hurray!) the Return of the Big Fish and Heyoka (together for the first time!), and pencils for a bit of future-story starring the Cuties and their Chip-Skates. All of this material, and much, much more is destined to appear in the long-awaited, oft-announced, maybe soon-forth-coming Float Force graphic album by Mr. ("I'm Keeping My Day Job") Marder. Don't hold your breath, though; buy Hungry? instead. 2) Moe, Investigator of the Odd is a 12-page black-and-white mini-comic. Written by Ian Smith and illustrated in a primitive but cleanly inked style by Ty Smith, the issue i have - #3 - contains three short stories, "Moe vs. Armagon," "Kinetic Pies," and "That's One Angry Robot." Truth to tell, i can't say which story is my favourite because they are all...quite odd. "Armagon" is longer, simpler, better drawn, and, ultimately, more sophomoric: An attractively rendered giant armadillo-like biped who can squirt acid blood out of his eyes goes on a city-destroying rampage and cannot be stopped by normal means, so Moe, goggle-eyed Investigator of the Odd, is called in to handle the case. Moe tries everything from luring the monster with a loveable baby Armagon-robot to charming him with Japanese love songs, but nothing works, until...well, until Moe hits on the right solution, of course. Fans of Toho Studios will enjoy the parody. "Kinetic Pies" is a da-da two-pager that left me wondering why i wasn't laughing. It's a shaggy dog story that's more senseless than most in its genre. "One Angry Robot" is a two-page winner, however. It starts out with a premise so naggingly similar to "Armagon" (a giant robot runs amuck and the police are helpless to stop it) that i thought i would be bored. My mistake: The story here is not about how Moe cleverly brings an end to the robot's rampage; it's about...well...well...i can't tell you that (i mean - a spoiler for a two-page story???) but it sure is exactly the kind of offbeat tale that has made the Seattle mini-comics scene such a vital part of our industry. The print run on Moe, Investigator of the Odd #3 is limited to 250 copies, with each copy number-stamped, so if you want one, i suggest that you order promptly from Zamboni Press, 16842 N.W. Jocelyn Street, Beaverton, Oregon 97006. For those who want more, Moe also appears in Coffee World, a 32 pager from World Comics featuring the work of Scott (Too Much Coffee Man) Wheeler and Scott (Coffee Town) Saavedra. ==== Fit to Print appears in print each week in Comics Buyers Guide and is available via e-mail. Tell your friends! To subscribe to Fit to Print via e-mail send a request with the words "Subscribe FtP" in the subject header and your address in the body of the message to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] You will be added to the list and receive the next available issue. Back issues are available. FTP to nspace.cts.com and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. FtP is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/~91mithra AND http://www2.csn.net/~searls. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.